Wimbledon 2024: Coco Gauff reborn in SW19 a year after dismal first-round exit

Five years ago, Coco Gauff burst onto the scene at Wimbledon, her first grand slam appearance resulting in an unlikely run to the fourth round.

Bizarrely, bearing in mind she would appear to have the ideal game for the grass, she has not made it further than the last-16 since. And last year, she was knocked out in the first-round by Sofia Kenin.

That exit led her to question her place in the sport but she regrouped and, within two months, was a grand slam champion for the first time at her home event, the US Open.

Looking back on the contrast from 12 months ago to now, the world No2 said: “I wish a year ago me, after the match, could see me now. That was a tough moment for me.

“I think the first two, three weeks after that, I was really in a dark place. It was tough for me to realise I have so much time. But when that happens you just feel the weight of everything on you.

“But I think I’ve just grown a lot. I’m glad I used that moment to just strive to get better. I still know I’m nowhere near where I can be. But I think that experience taught me that a bad moment doesn’t last forever. The next part of the season was the best I’ve ever had.”

Gauff, still only 20 and taking on fellow American Caroline Dolehide later today in the opening round, is among three favourites in the women’s draw, the others being Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka.

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Sabalenka arrives in London nursing a shoulder injury, which forced her withdrawal mid-match in Berlin earlier this month and has been causing her issues on serve. And ahead of starting her tournament ambitions against Emina Bektas today, she said: “I’m not 100 per cent fit now. We’re doing everything we can with my team to make sure I’ll be able to play my first match here. But I’m not 100 per cent ready.”

In contrast, Swiatek comes to the All England Club devoid of any competitive matches on grass having not competed since winning the French Open.

A quarter-finalist at best here to date, the world No1 admitted to struggling with her mastery of the surface.

“At the beginning for sure it was tricky,” she said of her first forays of this summer on grass. “Day after day, I feel like I’m getting more rhythm and I can really feel the ball better. I feel good.”

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